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NCBI Volunteer Perspective

One of the Co. Galway stalwarts, Noreen Fahy from Kinvara, who lends her time and skills to the NCBI shop in Gort, urges people with some hours to spare to give them to the NCBI saying “It will be the best thing you will ever do and you will not regret a second of it.”

The 62 year old has been a constant support to the shop for the past 11 years and says “I look forward to the time I spend there. It is just one day a week but it gets me out of the house, out meeting and mingling with others and out of myself. We all have busy lives and busy heads and sometimes listening to other people is just the tonic we need. We can be so wrapped up with our own lives, and often trivial worries, but believe me, it is only when we pause to listen to others that we realise that things are actually very good in our lives. I have a good life, a very good life, and I am grateful for that and I like to show my gratitude by giving something back.”

Noreen says that she was first drawn to volunteer for the NCBI as she had worked in retail for many years and was familiar with that world.

“I loved the buzz of retail and all shops, charity or mainstream offer that buzz. I love doing the windows here and thinking ahead to what I will put in them to best represent what we have to sell. We have great solid and committed donors who bring us in amazing items and as much as I love to see them coming in, I am thrilled to see them going out the doors knowing that the money spent will be spent so wisely by the NCBI.”

Noreen adds, “It is a wonderful charity proving solid consistent and vital services to people with sight loss in County Galway. There is great camaraderie in the shop here and I have to say that I have built up a great rapport with the Area Manager, Grainne Whiteside, over the years. Once I get into the shop I am welcomed by familiar faces and there is a lot to be said for that. People need each other and no matter how successful we are or how busy we are, and we should never lose sight of that. Look at the amazing work that the NCBI does for people who are blind or vision impaired in County Galway. I am humbled to be a small part of that.”